Controlling Dust Emissions
Setting & History
The Salton Sea, the largest lake in California, covers about 376 square miles of Imperial and Riverside counties. It was created by accident in 1905 when a storm broke through a dam, and the Colorado River flooded the Salton Basin. For the past few decades, the sea has been primarily receiving its input of water through agricultural runoff. From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Salton Sea became very popular and even had more visitors than Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, due to nutrients and chemicals from the agricultural runoff, fish started to die and the water became very saline. The Sea started to smell, putting an end to the once booming tourism industry. If you visit the lake now, you will see abandoned buildings as well as piles of fish bones on the shores of the lake. |
Current Issue
In 2003, the Quantification Settlement Agreement was signed to reduce California’s use of the Colorado River. As a consequence, there was less agricultural runoff to the Salton Sea, reducing a major source of its inflow. To mitigate declining lake levels that resulted from this agreement, water has been supplied to the sea by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID). However, this mitigation water has expired at the end of 2017, which will cause major drops in lake levels. With reduced inflows and constant evaporation, the lake will shrink quickly, exposing the dry lake bed. The graph below shows the predicted lake levels as the Sea continues to shrink.
High winds in the area already pose a dust problem for the area. Fugitive dust emissions are hazardous to human health and intensify respiratory diseases such as asthma. As the shoreline recedes, there is potential for more dust to be emitted from newly exposed areas.
In 2003, the Quantification Settlement Agreement was signed to reduce California’s use of the Colorado River. As a consequence, there was less agricultural runoff to the Salton Sea, reducing a major source of its inflow. To mitigate declining lake levels that resulted from this agreement, water has been supplied to the sea by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID). However, this mitigation water has expired at the end of 2017, which will cause major drops in lake levels. With reduced inflows and constant evaporation, the lake will shrink quickly, exposing the dry lake bed. The graph below shows the predicted lake levels as the Sea continues to shrink.
High winds in the area already pose a dust problem for the area. Fugitive dust emissions are hazardous to human health and intensify respiratory diseases such as asthma. As the shoreline recedes, there is potential for more dust to be emitted from newly exposed areas.
The Project
The purpose of this project is to draw data-driven conclusions that can be used for policy recommendations and air quality implementation strategies for controlling dust emissions at the Salton Sea. We have investigated responsibility for mitigating dust from parcels of exposed shoreline depending on potential dust emissions, ownership of land, and environmental obligations.
With a recommendation in place for responsibility of dust control, the project aims to start the elaborate process towards controlling fugitive dust emissions from the lake and preventing the decline in air quality for thousands of residents in the surrounding areas.
The purpose of this project is to draw data-driven conclusions that can be used for policy recommendations and air quality implementation strategies for controlling dust emissions at the Salton Sea. We have investigated responsibility for mitigating dust from parcels of exposed shoreline depending on potential dust emissions, ownership of land, and environmental obligations.
With a recommendation in place for responsibility of dust control, the project aims to start the elaborate process towards controlling fugitive dust emissions from the lake and preventing the decline in air quality for thousands of residents in the surrounding areas.